Ordinance calling and providing for a special election to be held in the City and County of San Francisco on Tuesday, June 2, 2026, for the purpose of submitting to San Francisco voters a proposition to incur bonded indebtedness of up to $535,000,000 to finance the construction, acquisition, improvement, rehabilitation, renovation, expansion, and seismic retrofitting of the Emergency Firefighting Water System, Firefighting Facilities and Infrastructure, Police Facilities and Infrastructure, transportation facilities for the Municipal Railway Bus Storage and Maintenance Facility at Potrero Yard, and other Public Safety Facilities and Infrastructure for earthquake and public safety and related costs necessary or convenient for the foregoing purposes (collectively, the “ESER Facilities”); authorizing landlords to pass-through 50% of the resulting property tax increase, if any, to residential tenants in accordance with Chapter 37 of the Administrative Code; finding that the estimated cost of such proposed ESER Facilities is and will be too great to be paid out of the ordinary annual inco

San Francisco voters will consider a $535,000,000 Earthquake Safety and Emergency Response (ESER) General Obligation Bond on Tuesday, June 2, 2026. This bond aims to finance critical infrastructure improvements for earthquake safety and public safety, building on previous ESER bonds (2010, 2014, 2020). The bond proceeds are allocated across several key areas:

• Emergency Firefighting Water System (EFWS): Up to $130,000,000 for renovation, seismic upgrades, and expansion, including extending high-pressure pipelines to western neighborhoods and replacing the Fort Mason fireboat manifold.
• Firefighting Facilities & Infrastructure: Up to $100,000,000 for seismic retrofitting, renovation, or replacement of neighborhood fire stations (e.g., Fire Station Nos. 2, 7, 8, 40).
• Police Facilities & Infrastructure: Up to $72,000,000 for seismic, safety, and operational improvements to district police stations (e.g., Taraval Police Station) and the Property Control Division.
• Muni Bus Storage & Maintenance Facility at Potrero Yard: Up to $200,000,000 to replace the 110-year-old, seismically unsafe Potrero Yard at 2500 Mariposa Street with a modern, seismically resilient facility capable of accommodating 246 electric trolley buses.
• Other Public Safety Facilities & Infrastructure: Up to $33,000,000 for critical building repairs like roofs and electrical systems.

The bond includes strong accountability measures, such as annual review by the Citizen’s General Obligation Bond Oversight Committee (funded by 0.1% of bond proceeds), a dedicated webpage for transparency, and public hearings. The estimated tax rate is $7.45/$100,000 of assessed property value, generating $35,900,000 annually, with a duration of up to 30 years. The city's policy is to keep the property tax rate for GO bonds at or below the 2006 rate.

This bond would fund essential upgrades to fire, police, and public transit infrastructure, significantly improving the city's ability to respond to and recover from major earthquakes and other disasters. However, it would result in a property tax increase, with landlords authorized to pass-through 50% of this increase to residential tenants. The Potrero Yard modernization project is also anticipated to create approximately 100 new affordable housing units.

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